Life Beyond the Screen
by Liv Cassidy
Summary: (Sequel to The Man behind the Screen): They reconnected through an online dating site. They confessed their love to each other. What will happen next? Will Olivia Benson finally have the happy family she's always dreamed about, or will Ed Tucker step in the way?
1. Chapter 1

**Note: This is the ****sequel**** to **_**The Man behind the Screen. **_**This story will make much more sense if you read that story first, because it will be referenced to often. It's been about eight months since I finished **_**The Man behind the Screen**_**. As most of you know, I've gone Bensidy crazy, so writing anything EO seemed out of the question for the longest time. I've recently re-read **_**The Man behind the Screen **_**and realized how much I really love this storyline; thus, my muse returned for this story. I hope you'll enjoy it. Lastly, I promise that this story will remain EO, and I'll try my hardest to keep Brian out of this story to avoid temptation. Please review. **

_**We begin one week after where we ended…**_

* * *

Chapter 1

"Munch, go home," Olivia ordered with a joyful grin on her face to the sergeant. She was reaching for her coat, preparing to take off herself. It had been one hell of a week for the entire precinct as Cragen had chosen to go on a fishing trip. In the meantime, the week had been full of life changes for Olivia Benson. Her heart warmed as she thought of the sweet little girl who had been introduced to her just a little over a week ago. Miss Maggie was currently being watched by the last person Olivia had expected to re-enter her life. Olivia's head spun, thinking of all the amazing things that had happened in her life, including Elliot confessing his love to her. How could it be so? How could this be happening? She was finally living her dream.

"Who are you, and what have you done with Detective Benson?" Munch jokingly asked Olivia, and then winked at her.

"My bet's on she's got a hot date with a certain Elliot Stabler tonight," Fin teased. Olivia gave Fin a stern look and rolled her eyes. "Hey, I'm just messin' with ya, Liv."

"I know," she said and released a sigh. "Actually, Elliot has to pick up Eli tonight. It's Maggie's first time meeting Eli, and Eli doesn't know about Maggie yet. Elliot has just told him that we have a surprise for him. Then, we were going to order pizza and have a movie night."

"Sounds like my kind of night," Munch said with a smirk on his face.

"So, yeah, I'm out. This place is a ghost town. You all should take the night off too," Olivia smiled, pulling her coat on and heading toward the elevator.

"Not everyone has someone to go home to," she heard Nick sneer behind her. Olivia's heart dropped. She knew that it had been a rough week for Nick. His wife had left him, taking their daughter along with her.

"C'mon, Nick. Let's me and you go grab a drink," Olivia heard Fin offer as she pressed the elevator door button. "Anyone else wanna come while my pocket's open?"

"I'll pass. Someone has to man the station, might as well be me. You kids have fun," Munch said.

"Amanda?"

"Sounds like fun, boys," Olivia heard Amanda say just before the elevator opened.

A cold gush of wind blew in Olivia's face as she walked out of the precinct. Fall's ending was approaching, and the days were starting to get cooler. A chill shivered up Olivia's spine as she stood on the curbside and waited for her cab. She couldn't wait to get back to her apartment to see Maggie and of course Elliot. Maggie had quickly become the light of her life.

Olivia was terrified that she was becoming too attached to Maggie. She knew it was only a matter of time before she received a notice from Child Services regarding her next family court hearing. Maggie's case manager had been in touch with Olivia twice over the past week. Their initial court hearing had been postponed for a day because of the new evidence that eventually revealed that Maggie's brother had murdered her parents, not her father. At the postponed court hearing, the judge had granted Olivia temporary custody of Maggie; although a future court date would be set to determine long-term custody for the child since Olivia was not a licensed foster parent. However, she was an officer of the law. That court date had not been set yet.

The yellow cab pulled up, and Olivia got in. When she arrived at her apartment, she eagerly made her way to her apartment. Elliot wasn't expecting her home this early, so she was excited to surprise both he and Maggie.

The door was locked, so Olivia inserted her key in the door and unlocked the door. She entered the apartment to find the living room empty. Immediately, her heart jumped into the pit of her stomach. Where were Elliot and Maggie? She checked all the rooms in the apartment and came up empty. _Calm down, _she told herself, and she assured herself that Elliot had simply taken Maggie to the park or something.

She reached in her pocket for her cell phone and began to dial Elliot's number. As soon did that, the knob to her apartment began to turn. She'd given Elliot one of her spare keys. She quickly ended the call as Elliot appeared with the auburn-haired child.

"Livvy!" Maggie cheered. The child's face was covered with the residue of ice cream. She held a partially eaten cone in her hand. Maggie raced to Olivia and wrapped her arms around her waist. "You're home!"

Olivia smiled, giving Maggie a hug. She then looked up at Elliot, who intently stared at Olivia with a hint of confusion in his face.

"Hey, Liv. I wasn't expecting to see you home so early. Dead day at SVU?" Elliot asked.

"Pretty much," Olivia shrugged. "Cragen's on vacation. I tried getting Munch to take the day off too, but he insisted on manning the station. If they need me, they'll call me. But I kind of hope they don't." She smiled, winking at Elliot. She gazed into his dazzling blue eyes, and her heart fluttered. Every moment she'd spent with Elliot over the last week had brought butterflies to her stomach. She'd never experienced such a sensation with any other man. She inched closer to Elliot, wanting to kiss him so badly. Their lips hadn't met since last week in the precinct, when Fin had barged in on them. She wanted to so badly. The kiss had been too short-lived. She wanted to taste his mouth, to interlock her tongue with his, and to run her tongue down his throat. But yet, she was afraid.

The truth was Elliot had not changed since he'd walked out of her life a year and a half ago. It was like they had picked up where they'd ended, except for the conversation they'd had at the precinct in Cragen's office last week. Neither had brought that up again, though. She wanted to take things slowly, and he seemed to be respectful of that. Her heart was dying to bring it up again. She'd told him that she'd loved him from the beginning, but she wanted to elaborate her love to him. She'd been waiting for the right moment, but with Maggie, it was hard. Olivia had been persistent about not allowing Elliot to spend the night. She didn't want to do something she'd regret later. Elliot had been her partner, her best friend, and she was scared to allow him to become her lover.

She didn't know what he expected now that they'd both come clean about their feelings. She didn't know how to ask him about his expectations. Olivia also believed that communication had been the major downfall of his and Kathy's relationship. He couldn't say that he'd never loved her; Olivia wasn't willing to buy it if he did. He'd been married to Kathy for over twenty-five years. David Haden had been her longest relationship in years, a whopping three months. In high school, she'd dated a guy for four months. He'd been the one she was going to run away with and get married to.

Needless to say, relationships weren't her forte. For years, she'd convinced herself that she wasn't designed to be in a serious relationship with another person. She wasn't sure that she knew _how _to be in a relationship. She didn't know how to define her relationship with Elliot right now. He had just reappeared into her life after a year and a half's absence, confessed his love to her, and had spent every day with her and her foster daughter since. She'd noticed that he and Maggie were growing close, and it scared her. Last night, Maggie had asked Olivia if she and Elliot were going to get married. Olivia didn't know how to the question, because she didn't know. She told Maggie that marriage was a very complicated process. She wasn't sure Maggie had understood, though Olivia secretly hoped that Maggie had mentioned something to Elliot. Then, maybe he would mention something to her, which could get them talking.

Olivia snapped out of her thoughts and brought her attention back to Maggie.

"It looks like someone had ice cream," Olivia chuckled lightly, pointing out the mess on Maggie's face to her.

"Elliot took me to the park and got me ice cream!" Maggie grinned. Olivia noticed the black patches on Maggie's white-pearl teeth, implicating that Maggie had gotten Oreo ice cream; which Olivia had learned was Maggie's favorite.

"Well, what do you say to him?" Olivia smiled, going to the kitchen and grabbing a wash cloth. She ran over the cloth and squeezed the water out of it.

"Thank you!" Maggie cheered to Elliot as Olivia cleansed Maggie's face from the ice cream leftovers.

"You're very welcome, Maggie," Elliot said, crossing his arms.

"Elliot told me that Eli loves Oreo ice cream too!" Maggie announced. Maggie had taken a certain obsession to Elliot's son since learning that she would be meeting him tonight. She'd asked Elliot dozens of questions about Eli, including his favorite color, TV show, and games. As it turned out, the kids had a lot in common. Maggie was eager to finally meet him, as she'd gone through all the pictures of Eli on Elliot's phone and computer of him. She'd made the comment that he was cute, too. Elliot and Olivia had joked that she had a crush on him, even though they hadn't met. Elliot was convinced that they'd get along great, though Eli didn't know that he was getting a playmate tonight. Olivia knew that Elliot had yet to tell Kathy that he'd reconnected with his old partner.

"That's awesome," Olivia laughed then looked at Elliot.

"Well," Elliot said. "Since you're off early, would you like to go with Maggie and me to pick up Eli from daycare?" It was Friday night, and Elliot would have Eli until Sunday.

Olivia was sure that Eli didn't even remember her. He'd been about two the last time she'd seen him. Eli had still been in diapers the last time she'd seen him. Olivia was suddenly reminded of when the captain had asked her to pack up Elliot's desk. There was a photo of Eli when he was a baby in Elliot's arms. Elliot's stuff was still in her desk at work. She'd have to remember to give that stuff back to him eventually.

"Yeah, sure," Olivia agreed. Her thoughts drifted back to Kathy who still didn't know that Elliot had been spending his days with Olivia and a child that wasn't his. When was she going to find out? It would have to before the end of the weekend, because Olivia knew that if Eli was like any other four-year-old; he would go home and chatter to his mother about his weekend. Olivia and Maggie would be part of that weekend. When Elliot dropped Eli off Sunday, Olivia knew that she and Maggie would have to go with him.

"Well, I'm supposed to pick him up in about thirty minutes, so we better get going," Elliot said. Elliot had just reached for the door knob when a loud startling knock on Olivia's door surprised them all. He raised a brow as he inquisitively looked at Olivia. "Were you expecting someone?"

She shook her head. "No, I told everyone at the precinct that I was spending the night with you, Maggie, and Eli." She, too, was wondering who was at the door.

Elliot peeked through the peephole to see who was on the other side of the door.

"Why the Hell is Ed Tucker here?"


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"Ed Tucker?" Olivia's heart pounded laboriously against her chest. An ill feeling launched in her stomach. She softened her voice, trying to speak under her breath in hopes Tucker would not hear her, "What do we do?"

Elliot slowly lifted his right eyebrow. "What do you mean?" he muttered to her. His gaze was stern yet apprehensive.

"We have to run. We can go down the fire escape." Olivia reached out and took Maggie's hand. She wrapped her arms around the child and gathered her in her arms. She cradled the five-year-old tightly. She knew that Tucker's presence was never for the good. He was the bearer of bad news, and somehow she knew that he had come to take Maggie away from her. Why else would he be here? Even if he knew about Elliot's visit to the precinct last week, there was nothing he could do about it. Even if he knew they'd been spending time together, it didn't matter. She and Elliot were no longer partners. They hadn't been in over a year and a half.

"Liv, you've lost your mind," Elliot quipped softly. He reached out and placed his hand on Olivia's shoulder. "You can't run from Tucker. He'll find you. You're going to have to face him, whether you like it or not." Elliot had always been the voice of reason, whereas Olivia was prone to becoming too emotionally invested. Together, they'd balanced each other out for twelve years.

There was a deafening pound on Olivia's door again.

"Open up, Benson. I know you're there!" Ed Tucker's voice roared through Olivia's apartment door. Olivia swallowed. She knew Elliot was right. There was no hiding from Ed Tucker or the rest of IAB, for that matter. She had to brace herself for what was to come.

"Livvy, what's wrong?" Maggie asked innocently. "Who's at the door? Is it a bad man?" Olivia looked in the little girl's sweet eyes. She could sense the worry in Maggie's small callow face.

"No, Sweetie. Nothing is wrong. You have nothing to worry about," Olivia assured the little girl. She hoped she wasn't lying to Maggie. The poor child had been through enough in the past weeks. Her mother and father had been murdered by her half-brother. Then, her brother had tried to pin the murder on her. Olivia was certain that her coworkers were convinced that Maggie was the world's youngest psychopath. She, however, knew Maggie was innocent. The child was so sweet and loving; Olivia knew that she could not hurt a fly. It seemed that Olivia, and Elliot of course, had been the only stable part of the child's life. Surprisingly, she was adjusting quite quickly too. Maggie had taken an instant liking to Olivia, and she'd adored Elliot from the start too.

With Maggie resting in her left arm, Olivia reached with her right arm to open the door. Momentarily, she was standing face-to-face with Ed Tucker. She held onto the door, only opening it half-way. She was sure that Tucker was not able to see Elliot behind her.

Ed Tucker had not changed since the last time she'd laid on eyes on him. His gray hair had thinned a little, perhaps, and he had a few more wrinkles. Otherwise, he was the same old, annoying Lieutenant Ed Tucker whom had pestered her and the rest of SVU for years.

"What can I do for you, Lieutenant Tucker?" Olivia carefully asked while attempting to remain civil with the lieutenant who had surely come to make her life more difficult than it already was.

"Care if I step in?" Tucker asked. Olivia couldn't help but notice that his eyes were directed at Maggie, who timidly leaned in closer to Olivia and gripped on tightly to Olivia's shoulder. Of course she cared if Ed Tucker stepped into her apartment, but she didn't have a choice but to allow him inside now. She hesitantly opened the door all the way, which allowed Tucker to pass through her doorway and permitted him to see that he wasn't alone with Olivia and Maggie. Tucker released a loathsome sigh. "Well, well, well, if it isn't Elliot Stabler. I gotta admit, I wasn't expecting to see you here. There was rumor of a sighting of you at the 1-6, but it was well, you know, just a rumor. I personally doubted it, given the circumstances."

"I can't say it's a pleasure to see you, either," Elliot sassed. "Let's cut to the chase. What do you want with Olivia?"

"Well, Stabler, I think Olivia is perfectly capable of speaking for herself. For once, this doesn't concern you. Could you give us a moment to talk alone?" Tucker responded, pointing for Elliot to leave.

"I'm not going anywhere, Tucker. Whatever you have to say to her, you can say to me too. We're a package deal," Elliot replied, gently placing his arm around Olivia and Maggie.

"So, it's safe to assume you're partners in the bedroom now, huh? What happened to your wife, Elliot?" Ed sneered mercilessly.

Olivia gasped, and Elliot snarled, "That's none of your business, Tucker."

"You're right. It's not. After all, you were fired from the NYPD," Ed Tucker taunted, derisively grinning from ear to ear.

"Resigned," Elliot corrected angrily. "I resigned."

"Fired - asked to resign - same thing. Anyway, moving to more important things," Lieutenant Tucker shifted his eyes to Maggie. "This adorable little one must be Miss Magdolna, am I correct?"

"My name is Maggie," Maggie was quick to correct, squinting her eyes anxiously at the lieutenant. "And you're not a nice man."

Tucker's eyes widened, and he chuckled. "You're cute. I can tell you've been spending time with Detective Benson." He winked at Olivia.

"What do you want with Maggie?" Olivia whirred, hugging Maggie close to her body. She didn't want to let the little girl go, though Tucker had already implied that he was here for Maggie. A lump swelled in her throat; she swallowed, frightened of losing Maggie. She gently ran her hair down the child's soft auburn hair. This was the child who'd brought more smiles to Olivia's face in the last week than she'd experienced in years. She was so full of life. So full of joy. Ed Tucker couldn't take her away.

"It's my understanding that you had a court hearing that granted you temporary custody of Maggie until further notice, unless of course, an immediate family member was located," Ed Tucker said. "Am I correct?"

"Yes, that's correct. Child Services tried to locate an immediate relative but no one was located..." Olivia trailed off; her heart thumped faster.

"Child Services is currently being investigated by One Police Plaza for potentially withholding information so a decorated NYPD Detective could start her own family. I'm here to inform you that we've located Maggie's maternal grandparents in Washington State. They're on a flight to New York now. I'm here to take Maggie, Olivia. You're going to have to give her to me."

Olivia's eyes swelled with tears.

"No!" Maggie hollered. "No! You can't take me! I won't go. I'm staying here with Livvy." Maggie gripped onto Olivia's arms as Tucker reached his arms out and placed them on Maggie's sides. He pulled tightly on her, but Maggie gripped onto Olivia's shoulders. Olivia threw her arms around Maggie's shoulders, hugging her tightly and trying to pull her back to her. Tears were pouring from Maggie's and Olivia's eyes.

"Give her to me!" Tucker snarled.

Elliot was now behind Olivia. He placed his hands on Olivia's waist and whispered, "You've gotta let her go, Liv. You don't have a choice."

"I can't," Olivia sobbed. "I can't." Then, Maggie was ripped out of her arms and Tucker now held onto her. Olivia fell back into Elliot's arms. The five-year-old squirmed restlessly in the lieutenant's arms.

"LET ME GO!" she yelled. "I'M STAYING HERE WITH LIVVY!"

"Calm down, child!" Tucker hollered. "I'm taking you to see your grandparents. Olivia isn't your mother."

"I WANNA STAY WITH LIVVY!" Maggie demanded. "YOU CAN'T TAKE ME!" Her eyes were swollen from crying. Her face, red and clammy. She reached her arms out for Olivia to take them.

"Oh, baby," Olivia whispered, releasing herself from Elliot's grip. She wiped the tears away from her own eyes, walking toward Lieutenant Tucker and Maggie. "It's going to be okay, sweetheart. I promise."

"Livvy, you said everything would okay. Why are you letting him take me?" Maggie sobbed. Olivia reached out and brushed Maggie's hair out of her face. She kissed Maggie's forehead.

"I didn't know, honey. I'm so sorry," Olivia whispered.

"Tell him he can't take me. Please." Maggie's desperate, hopeless eyes brought pain to Olivia's heart, knowing there was nothing she could do.

"I have no say," Olivia said, wiping another tear from her cheek. "I'm sorry, sweetheart. You're a strong girl. Your grandparents will take good care of you."

"I don't know them, though. I know you," Maggie cried softly.

Tucker smirked, as if he were getting pleasure out of this, and said, "It's time to go, Maggie. Say goodbye to Olivia."

Maggie reached out her arms, and Tucker allowed Maggie to give Olivia one last hug. Then, Olivia watched as Ed Tucker and Maggie disappeared.

She fell into Elliot's arms. Her tears bled into Elliot's shoulder. The moisture soaked her face. She brushed her face against his shirt, and then looked into his twinkling blue eyes.

"Oh, El. I'm so stupid," she whispered with certainty. "Why did I let myself get so attached to her? I knew this was going to happen."

"Liv, shhhh," Elliot softly murmured, brushing his hand down her hair. He hugged her tightly and said, "It's not your fault that you're a natural-born mother. You're naturally driven to children, because you're so good with them. Children love you, and no one deserves a child more than you."

"I don't think I'm meant to have one," Olivia stated. "First I was denied for adoption, then Calvin, and now Maggie. I don't know why I put myself through the torture. I don't deserve a child."

"Liv, stop," Elliot said. "If anyone deserves a child, it's you. And Maggie isn't gone yet."

"What do you mean?" Olivia asked, letting herself out of Elliot's arms. She looked straight at him with her hands on her hips. "You were here just a moment ago. Tucker walked out with her. She's gone."

"Not quite," Elliot said. "You heard her say that she doesn't know her grandparents. It's obvious that she prefers to stay with you over them. You have plenty of friends in law enforcement that will back you, Liv. You could easily find a defense attorney who will take your case. What about the guy who defended you when you were framed for murder? He's one of the best, in my opinion."

"Trevor Langan?" Olivia smirked. "He hasn't defended someone in a while. I honestly don't know what he's up to." Olivia swallowed the spit in her mouth. She knew that she could talk to Bayard Ellis. Though, she hated to ask him for another favor like this. In all honesty, she was still frustrated with him after he threatened to out her and David. She knew that he'd only been doing it to help his case, but still. He was a bit of an ass. Plus, there had been the whole ordeal with Simon and his daughter and girlfriend's son.

"Yeah, that's it. Why don't you give him a call?" Elliot nudged her, and then looked at his watch. "Shit."

"Eli!" Olivia cried. "You're going to be late picking him up!"

"I've got to go now. I'm supposed to pick him up in literally two minutes. Hopefully if I call the daycare right now, they won't call Kathy."

"I think I'd better stay here," Olivia insisted. "I don't want to be a bother for you and Eli... plus, maybe it's best that Eli doesn't see me yet. I don't want to confuse him."

"Well, I already told him that I had a surprise for him. That surprise was going to be Maggie, but I think he would be delighted to see you, Olivia," Elliot replied gently, moving a piece of her hair back. She gazed into his eyes and released a sigh.

"I don't know, El. He was so little the last time I saw him. Are you sure it's a good idea? I mean, it's not like we're dating or anything. I don't want him to get the wrong impression," Olivia insisted.

"Well, I've spent every day with you and Maggie this past week. Dating or not, you're a huge part of my life. You never stopped being a huge part of my life, even when we were apart; there wasn't a day I didn't think about you. You were my "office wife" for twelve years, after all," Elliot laughed. "Plus, I'm not willing to leave you alone after what just happened. Please, come with me. But I really need to call the daycare right now to tell them I'm running late or I'm going to be in a shit ton of trouble from Kathy."

He held out his hand and she hesitantly grabbed onto it. Elliot pulled out his phone and began dialing the daycare's number as they left Olivia's apartment.


End file.
